A wide variety of starch and protein-based snack food products are presently available to the consumer. Many of these products are in the form of chips, strips, and extruded tubular pieces. Some of these products are expanded or puffed and contain a cellular or honeycombed internal structure. In addition, most of the present-day snack products contain a fairly high level of fat, either in the form of separately added ingredients, such as cheese, or in the form of fats imparted to the product during cooking, as in the case of corn or potato chips. Fat improves the flavor and palatability of these products.
There is, however, an increasing demand for healthier fried snacks which have less fat and have a healthier, lighter appearance than conventional fried snacks.
Many of the recent methods for making healthier fried snacks have been directed to lowering fat content. One such method involves coating chips with an aqueous dispersion of a high amylose starch. This is said to produce a potato chip with minimal oil pick-up and low variation in the amount of oil absorbed. Coating of breaded or batter food products with a film forming agent such as gelatin or starches is also said to lower oil absorption by the foods when they are fried.
Another method for reducing fat content in fried foods involves coating food surfaces with an aqueous solution of alpha amylase enzyme. This is said to lower the fat absorption of the product during frying. The amylase attacks starch molecules forming maltose, dextrins and other smaller starch fragments. Alpha amylase enzymes can also be added to a batter of potato solids from which a snack food is produced. The enzyme hydrolyzes the starch molecules, thereby increasing the solids content and reducing the viscosity of the batter. Fried potato snacks made from this batter are said to have a lower oil content than normal.
In yet another method, U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,554 discloses a process for making fried snack chips which have fewer surface blisters and are less oily. In accordance with this method, raw potato slices are contacted with a dilute aqueous solution of up to about 0.04 molar calcium. The calcium source must be a water-soluble salt such as calcium chloride, calcium acetate, calcium citrate, and calcium sulfamate. According to the patent disclosure, treatment solutions containing 0.5 molar or more of calcium should be avoided since such higher calcium concentrations will increase brittleness and oiliness of the chips.
There is a continuing need to provide additional methods for making even healthier fried snacks. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide such a method where the resulting fried snack has a lower fat content and a more expanded, lighter snack structure.